Jamaica football hunts for bigger FIFA say

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts wants his organisation to play a greater role in making decisions that affect the game the world over.

The JFF used to have some say when its late president, Captain Horace Burrell, ran its affairs, but he was the last representative to hold a post at either the CONCACAF or FIFA level.

“It is a process, and I have been in office a little over a year, but the truth is that FIFA has a lot of respect for Jamaica, and they have a lot of respect for how we operate as a federation,” said Ricketts.

According to Ricketts, Burrell left a legacy of respect for the JFF that the organisation will seek to maintain.

“Certainly, we are looking forward to this because Captain Horace Burrell was a member of the executive committee for Concacaf and FIFA, and so Jamaica is fairly influential around the Caribbean. I am pretty certain that later on, somebody will sit on one of the executive committees,” he said.

Paul-Andre is the Managing Editor at SportsMax.tv. He comes to the role with almost 20 years of experience as journalist. That experience includes all facets of media. He began as a sports Journalist in 2001, quickly moving into radio, where he was an editor before becoming a news editor and then an entertainment editor with one of the biggest media houses in the Caribbean.

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Chelsea have confirmed they will appeal against a ban from registering players for two transfer windows, but it leaves a number of stars with uncertain futures.

Eden Hazard's contract situation, with the forward's deal set to expire at the end of next season, could become particularly problematic for the Blues if they cannot replace the Belgium international in the market.

Callum Hudson-Odoi has also been targeted by Bayern Munich while loaned players including Mateo Kovacic, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata will wonder what the ban means for them, although it could be reduced on appeal.

Here, we assess key Chelsea figures to examine how their transfer strategy could be affected over the next year.

EDEN HAZARD

The obvious place to start is with Hazard. The winger has made no secret of his desire to play for Real Madrid, but the emergence of Vinicius Junior at the Santiago Bernabeu may mean Los Blancos do not feel they need Hazard.

With Hazard heading towards the last year of his Chelsea contract, Maurizio Sarri has indicated the issue needs to be resolved sooner rather than later, but the transfer ban will complicate matters. And if Gareth Bale leaves Madrid, Neymar would likely be a top target with Hazard an alternative.

A parallel for the Hazard situation could be seen at Atletico Madrid, whose star player Antoine Griezmann signed a bumper new contract rather than trying to force a move elsewhere during their transfer ban. Might Hazard be persuaded to do the same?

CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI

Bayern have made it clear they will resume their chase for Hudson-Odoi at the end of the season, when - like Hazard - the youngster will also only have 12 months left on his deal.

Sarri claims Hudson-Odoi is playing more than any other Premier League teenager, but the forward appears impatient to kickstart his development in a similar manner to Jadon Sancho, who became one of world football's hottest prospects after leaving Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund.

Bundesliga giants Bayern - who need long-term replacements for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery - will likely return with bids for Hudson-Odoi when the transfer window reopens, but regardless of how large the fee on offer gets, Chelsea may prefer to keep Hudson-Odoi and risk losing him for nothing in 2020.

GONZALO HIGUAIN

Higuain's future seems tied to Sarri and, if the Blues boss were to lose his job, it is hard to imagine Chelsea pursuing a permanent deal for the Juventus striker at the end of the season regardless of the transfer ban.

The Argentina hitman is seemingly not required in Turin after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and Juve will want to cash in on the 31-year-old while they can. If Chelsea cannot buy the striker, someone else surely will be tempted by his prolific record.

ALVARO MORATA

Morata fell out of favour under Sarri but may yet have a future at Stamford Bridge under a different manager. If Chelsea cannot sign a striker until the end of the 2019-20 season, Morata may once more become an option for the Blues.

Atletico Madrid signed Morata, a boyhood supporter of the club, on an 18-month loan but it is possible both teams could agree to cut the deal short.

MATEO KOVACIC

Kovacic has spoken warmly of a possible permanent move to Chelsea and a transfer for the Croatia international seemed likely. Real Madrid may be unwilling to allow Kovacic to leave on loan for another season, though, which might mean he has to find a new club for 2019-20.

RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK

Should Kovacic leave, opportunities may become more regular for another of Chelsea's talented crop of young players. Loftus-Cheek has seen his progress halted by back problems but, fitness permitting, the England midfielder is an obvious contender to benefit from a transfer ban.

CHRISTIAN PULISIC

As Pulisic's move from Borussia Dortmund was announced in January, it is not expected the American's switch to Stamford Bridge will be affected by Chelsea's ban. Should Hazard be sold, Pulisic is an obvious replacement as he can play in a wide range of attacking positions.

MAURIZIO SARRI

Sarri is reportedly on the brink of the sack and another heavy defeat at the hands of Manchester City in Sunday's EFL Cup final would put him under even more pressure to justify tactics including the use of N'Golo Kante as a box-to-box midfielder.

But new managers typically want to sign players. Who would take a job knowing they have to work with an unbalanced squad, with a star player who has hinted that he wants to leave? Sarri could therefore be given more time to work with his players - exactly what the coach craves.

However, one of the leading contenders to replace Sarri, Zinedine Zidane, has worked under a transfer embargo at Real Madrid.

Chelsea have been banned from registering players in the next two transfer windows by FIFA following a breach of regulations regarding the registration of young players.

FIFA's disciplinary committee has sanctioned both Chelsea and the Football Association after it uncovered 29 cases in which the club were in breach of article 19 of the regulations, relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.

Chelsea were also found to have committed several other infringements relating to the requirements for registering new players.

The Blues will not be able to register new players in either of the next two transfer windows, meaning they will not be able to make any new signings in the 2019-20 season as it stands.

Both Chelsea and the FA have also been fined by FIFA, with the club ordered to pay 600,000 Swiss francs and England's governing body charged 510,000 Swiss francs.

Chelsea have been given 90 days to fix the issues with the players concerned.

The decision can be contested before FIFA's appeal committee.

The FA has already announced its intention to appeal its sanction, claiming it has some concerns with the disciplinary process.

"The FA notes the decision of the FIFA disciplinary committee published today," a statement read. "The FA has cooperated fully with FIFA's investigations, although we have raised some concerns with FIFA regarding its disciplinary processes.

"The FA intends to appeal the decision. We will, however, continue to work with FIFA and Chelsea in a constructive manner to address the issues which are raised by this case.

"As this is an ongoing legal process, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

Like Chelsea, LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid were handed a two-window ban on registering players for similar offences.

Atleti agreed a deal to bring Diego Costa back to Madrid from Chelsea during that time but could not formally register the striker until the suspension ended in January 2018.